Improvement in the ornamentation of glass



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM GEORGE WEBB, OF WORDSLEY, GREAT BRITAIN, ASSIGNQR TO WIL- LIAMLANGDON LIBBEY, OF NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN THE ORNAMENTATION OF GLASS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 121,696, dated December5, 1871.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM GEORGE WEBB, of WVordsley, in the county ofStafford, in the Kingdom of Great Britain, Glass Manufacturer, have madea new and useful invention having reference to Engraving and OrnamentingGlass, of which the following is a specification:

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in the art ofembellishing and en graving upon glass; and consists in the combinedprocesses of printing and etching, as hereinafter described.

I am aware that printing upon glass, in the abstract, is not new;neither is it new to etch or engrave glass by means of an acid; but thetwo processes as combined and carried out in my improved manner Ibelieve to be novel, and the result attained thereby to be effected in amore simple, perfect and expeditious manner than any heretofore adopted.

The impressions which are desired to be reproduced are in the firstplace to be made upon either steel, copper, orany othersufficiently-hard metal or stone, as may be desirable. The impressionsare next printed upon paper and next transferred to the article to beengraved or etched, the engraving of the article being effected inmanner as hereinafter described.

In preparing the said plates for carrying out my invention I proceed asfollows: In case the outlines of the impression or design I desire toreproduce upon the glass (for instance, a glass globe) are to beintaglio, or formed below the surface of the ground, and the body of theglobe or parts surrounding the design, when finished, are to betransparent, I form the outlines of the design upon the impression-platein cameo or relief by removing the parts of the plate outside and inclose proximity to the design so as to form a shallow depressed borderentirely around the latter, whereby, when the plate is used for printingor reproducing the design upon the paper tissue or transferring-paper,such depressed part shall produce an inked border completelycircumscribing the design, and, when transferred to the surface of theglass, shall reproduce such inked border thereon, such inked borderforming a most perfect outline and protection of the design, and thusenables the whole surface of the glass which is not to be acted on bythe acid to be readily covered with a coating of varnish, as all that wehave to do is to varnish the parts outside of the inked border, suchrequiring but little care or skill. Were it not for this inked borderaround the design it would be totally impracticable, if not impossible,even with the greatest care and skill, in delicate designs, to apply thevarnish to the parts immediately around the design without covering moreor less of the parts or delicate outlines of the design which are to beacted on by the acid, and thus counteract the harmony of the effectdesigned, the lines being often so fine and close that it would beimpossible to apply the varnish between them, the artistic beauty andperfection of the design depending upon having every iota of the articlenot to be acted on by the acid protected, and leaving every portion tobe acted on perfectly free of any impediment to the direct contact ofthe acid.

In preparing the plate to reproduce other designs on the glass, forinstance, wreaths of leaves and flowers, in which the stem and ribs ofthe leaves and the flowers are to be in intaglio upon the finishedglass, the borders of the leaves and petals of the flowers are to bemade upon the plate in intaglio or sunken, so that an inked border shallbe formed around such when printed and transferred to the glass, thecoating of varnish being applied to the other parts, as beforementioned.

In case the design is to appear in cameo and transparent upon thefinished glass, and the ground or body portion of the article is to beof a cloudy or semi-opaque appearance, the impression or design upon theplate is to be made in intaglio or in depression, so that when printedupon paper and transferred to the glass such parts shall be protectedfrom the action of the acid, and thus be left clear and transparent andin cameo, the acid in such case being what I term a dull acid, which,acting upon the unprotected portion, slightly decomposes such and givesa cloudy appearance thereto.

The etching of the glass when printed and the proper parts have beenvarnished is accomplished in the following manner: A tank of guttaperchaor other suitable substance is provided, containing within it acombination of hydro-fluoric acid and nitric acid in the proportion, bypreference, of about one part of nitric acid to about fifty parts ofhydro-fluoric acid. The articles of glass to be embellished and etchedare to be at'tixed to a revolving frame or shaft. which is caused by anyconvenient mcansto rotate within the tank in such manner that duringeach contplete revolution ot'the shat't or t'rame the articles requiredto be operated on will have been submerged in the tluid and withdrawnfrom it. the i Object of such being to remo\e the silex or cle mentsot'the glass which have been decomposed bytheaetion ot' the acid. andthus allow the tnore ready access of the acid to the partsot the glassto be etched; or the said articles may he placed upon a suitable t'rameand alternately subtnct'ging and cle ating the same within the acid inthe tank; orthe articles may he placed overthe tank and the acid pottredupon them in intermittent streams.

That my invention may be fully understood and the mannerot' carrying itinto et't'ect maybe clear I will now particularize the means etuployed.I will lit'st dcscribcwhat I call the cold process of printing uponglass. The ink cur ployed for printing tnay be composed ot' equal partsof beeswax, l'csin, and white wax, tsay about one pound ot'each.)one-third part ot'boiled linseed-oil, (say about tive ounces.) togetherw ith one-third part (say about tive ounces) ot' peroxide o't' irolt,lnixed together with onc'halt part (say about eight ounces) ofturpentine, well boiled together. The varnish for protecting the glassmay be composed of equal parts of hittr lnen, beeswax, resin. and whitewax. and ten parts of turpentine, well boiled together.

As to the printing'plates. as before explained. the design lnay beengraved or etched ttpon either steel, copper, or stone. The ink isapplied with a knife to the depressed portions ot the composed ot onequart of boiled linseed-oil, two ounces ot resin. and two ounces 01' redlead, the whole to be boiled togetherto a thick consistency. Then I takeone part of asphaltunl and one part of j "ilz-vlill. which I boil to aproper consistency. At'terward I mix an equal part ot'theoil mixturewith a corresponding quantity of this asphaltum, which produces an inkready for use. The hit pressiotrplate. having been tuade as beforeexplained. is to be warmed, and the ink is laid on with a leather boss;and after the protecting parts of the plate are cleared it is put underthe printingpress. aml the design transferred to the glass by means of aflannel rubber, as bet'ore. The paper employed may be removed from theglass by means of clean water; and it should be mentioned that the paperused for printing is pottery tissue." and is to be damped, bet'ore beingused, with a solution otsot't soap and water. The process of etchingisthe same as that before explained as applicable to the cold process.

Sometimes, both in the cold and hot process, at'ter being etched it isdesirable to give the glass a cloudy appearance. In this case it is tobe placed in a dull acid, which maybe composed ot plate with which theprinting is done, the raised portions being cleaned: and the plate isnext placed under the printing-press. The impres sion obtained is nexttranst'erred to the glass and is rubbed on with a tlannel. move thepriutingqmper which has been used I take a weak solution of ammonia andwater. The parts ot the glass not to be acted on by the acid are next tobe varnished. and the article is then ready to be engraved or etched.and is to To readily l'c be placed in the mixture othydro-tluorie and initric acid and manipulated. as betore explained, until the acid hasremoved the unprotected portions of the glass to the desired depth.

1 will next describe what I call the hot process of printing upon glass:The ink in this case should, by preference, consist of a compound fourparts of water and one part of hydro-tluorie acid, the acid beingneutralized by carbonate of soda, which produces fluoride of sodium. Tolive parts ot the tluoride ot' sodiutn so formed add one part ot'aeeticacid. The manipulation bet'oredescribed is also applied to the articlesplaced in the dull acid. Another dull acid may be produced by taking,say, sixteen ounces of hydrotluoric acid and seven and three-fourthsounces of carbonateot' ammonia, which should be mixed gradually.

llaving described the nature of my invention and the manner in which thesame is or may be c; rricd into effect, what I claim is as follows:

1. For the purpose of engraving and ornamenting glassware, the combinedprocesses of printing and etching, substantially as hereinbet'orespccilictl.

2. In the process of etching glass, submitting the latter to theintermittent action of the acid, substantially as and for the purposeset forth.

WILLIAM GEORGE WEBB.

\Vitncsscs:

(itlottttl; ttomxsoN HOLLAND,

Iut'euf lg cat, Birmingham, ling lam]. Arm: 1-11) 'tnouAs BAKER,

('Ierl. to the .S'llitl George RobinsonHolland. (54)

